The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) has unveiled its election manifesto, which includes proposals to reduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST), abolish the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), and launch Housing Development Board (HDB) flats priced from as low as $90,000 through a non-open market scheme.
SDP Chairman Professor Paul Tambyah presented the party’s election manifesto and alternative policy proposals at Yew Tee Square on Sunday, 20 Apr 2025.
The key focus areas include tax systems, healthcare, sustainability, immigration, education, and housing.
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Prof Tambyah said their election manifesto aligns with their campaign slogan “Thrive, not just survive” and promises voters that if SDP enters Parliament, they will speak up for Singaporeans on these issues.
“SDP has long been seen as a party with courage. Voters know we’re not afraid to raise pointed questions,” he stated.
Consistent Policy Positions
When asked how this manifesto differs from previous years, Prof Tambyah explained that SDP’s policy positions have always been consistent.
The current proposals remain largely similar to what they’ve advocated over the past 20-30 years, with most updates reflecting current situations and incorporating new trends such as artificial intelligence.
For years, SDP has been calling for the government to lower GST back to 7% or even 5%, and to remove GST on daily necessities to reduce pressures on the cost of living.
They also propose injecting more resources to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and vulnerable groups, such as reducing rental costs and providing $500 monthly assistance to 80% of low-income elderly.
Housing and Education Reforms
In the aspect of housing, SDP reaffirmed its non-open market HDB plan first proposed in 2012.
Through this plan, which only charges construction and administrative costs, a 99-year lease of two-room to five-room flats could be priced between $90,000 and $270,000 on average.
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These flats would be built on land designated specifically for public housing and could only be sold back to the government, not resold on the open market.
SDP also suggests implementing a new program to verify foreign employees’ skills and professional certifications strictly before they can work locally, and unifying the national medical insurance scheme to simplify multiple plans, eliminating the “complexities” of current plans such as MediSave and MediShield Life.
Educational proposals include abolishing the PSLE, reducing class sizes to a maximum of 20 students, and introducing of Dedicated-teacher system where a teacher follows a class for three years to better support student development.
SDP Secretary-General Chee Soon Juan called on the government to clearly define the ideal population size and adopt genuine development indicators that consider social and environmental factors beyond GDP to avoid sacrificing quality of life for economic growth.
“I will discuss this topic further at election rallies,” he said.
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Joining Prof Tambyah in presenting the election manifesto were SDP Vice Chairman Bryan Lim Boon Heng and prospective candidates for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, Jufri Salim and Gigene Wong.
Incumbent People’s Action Party MP for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, Alex Yam, also appeared at Yew Tee Square on Sunday and greeted the members of SDP who were present.
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